Inexplicable Internet Data usage; only clue may be in stored Data but that's opaque.

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Level 1

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Inexplicable Internet Data usage; only clue may be in stored Data but that's opaque.

Recently about 33GB of data got used on my iMac; Auto updates were all turned off (except for System/security - whatever that is; it's under Apps. as is OS updates in System Settings); no smart devices in use; no Zoom etc. running constantly and the WiFi wasn't hacked. There are two clues; I had a second account and changed something(s) re sharing and insofar as I can find any meaning in the numbers my SSD seems to have a lot more data taken up then I have installed/saved. I gather it's largely impossible to comprehend what is stored on a device in any detail but I'd like to get to the bottom of this; I've had many bizarre experiences with computers but mysterious data usage is a new one. I have a limited Data plan and didn't think to check Activity Monitor at the time.

Posted on Apr 13, 2024 6:41 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

208,463 points

Apr 13, 2024 11:56 AM in response to desm1

By data being used do you mean free space used up? If that's the case the cause could be local snapshots by Time Machine. To check that out launch Disk Utility and see what you see for your boot drive to see if it's what I found on mine a while ago:

I always see the most recent snapshot when deleting them.

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Answer 2

desm1 Author

Level 1

23 points

Apr 14, 2024 2:31 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you for the response; I don't use Time machine but the "used" Data numbers are around double what I would have anticipated - but then about 40 GB is listed under Macintosh Data as "purgeable"; I vaguely gather that that will be removed if I leave the device in some kind of active sleep mode for long enough; a quick look around confirmed what I'd noted earlier i.e. that the numbers seem to be contradictory depending on where you look; just one example- Applications records about 14GB but a quick addition of all the recorded sizes comes to around 5GB; Library records Zero data used in it's component files so it looks like every folder needs to be opened to check "Get info".

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Inexplicable Internet Data usage; only clue may be in stored Data but that's opaque.

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